Until recently each browser implemented radial gradients in CSS3 in slightly different ways; finally, the specification has been shaken out to a single, shared standard. Obviously, the specification for radiant gradients is more complicated due to the greater range of options available.

For a linear gradient we can simply specify a starting color, finishing color, and (optionally) a direction. For a radial gradient we must also specify a starting and finishing color, with optional additions of the source location of the gradient will start, where the outer color will stop in the containing element, and the overall shape of the gradient.

First, let’s keep things simple with a div of a fixed dimension with no content. To that, let’s apply a simple radial gradient from white to a dark blue as a class: